Re: Dexedrine Tolerance? A Theory » Geezer

As I posted in response to Elizabeth, I responded to a pstim (Ritalin) and was able to drop the AD (Serzone) without any loss of response.

In answer to your question about how some develop tolerance and some do not, I think it can be predicted by how a person perceives the initial drug effects.

If the initial "zap" that you experience from a pstim is experienced as euphoric, and you develop a liking for that feeling of euphoria, you will have to constantly increase the dose to get that same level of euphoria.

On the other hand, in my case, the initial "zap" was moderately disphoric - I felt edgy and uncomfortable - BUT my depression lifted.

I actually looked forward to developing "tolerance" to the zap so I could just enjoy not being depressed without being edgy.

After about a month of daily Ritalin, the "unsettled" feeling went away and it has worked for my depression for 7 years.

I think a valid analogy would be if someone really got off on the sedation an OTC antihistamine like Benadryl vs. someone whose allergies are relived by Benadryl.

The first person would find the drowsiness to wear off after a few days of constant use, and would have to increase the dose to get the same effect.

But the other person would find his allergies relived at the same dose for years, because histamine is still blocked, even though the subjective drowsiness is no longer perceived.

Just a guess, but it makes sense to me.

> Can anyone tell me why one person would develope tolerance to Dex. while someone else would not? I can completely agree with Elizabeth's post - when a stim. is added to an ineffective AD, probably the effect felt is from the stim. and has nothing to do with the AD. Every time I used Dex. I experienced EUPHORIA (at any dose), Tolerance developed quickly and abuse went like a rocket.> > I have tried 2 doses of Provigil 100mg. (now, after the fact, I understand this drug requires some time to work). Provigil felt like the bumbed-out rebound depression I used to get when the Dex. wore off.> > I am not looking for a way to take pstims again - God knows I have paid the price for that. I would like to understand WHY a drug that could mean death for one can be helpful to another. I guess that is the purpose of this board.> > All comments welcome......Thank you> > Geezer